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Table 2 Changes between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

From: The impact of COVID-19 on physical activity behaviour in Italian primary school children: a comparison before and during pandemic considering gender differences

Variables

Before COVID-19 Mean ± SD or %

During COVID-19 Mean ± SD or %

Changes Mean ± SD

P Value*

Age (years)

7.84 ± 1.41

9.19 ± 1.41

+ 1.35 ± 0.03

< 0.0001*

BMI (score)

17.49 ± 2.76

17.91 ± 3.00

+ 0.10 ± 0.21

0.05*

BMI Cole cut-off

   

< 0.001*

Normal weight (n, %)

54 (71.1%)

52 (68.4%)

  

Overweight (n, %)

16 (21.1%)

20 (26.3%)

  

Obese (n, %)

6 (7.9%)

4 (5.3%)

  

Weekly MVPA (min)

332.94 ± 118.42

301.95 ± 109.81

−30.59 ± 120.87

0.01*

Daily MVPA (min)

55.44 ± 19.1

40.13 ± 14.18

−15.32 ± 16.21

< 0.001*

Adhering to MVPA guideline of 60 min/d; (n, %)

33 (42.9%)

9 (11.7%)

 

< 0.001*

Not adhering guideline

44 (57.1%)

68 (88.3%)

N = −24

< 0.001*

Sedentary Activity (min/week)

6605.88 ± 417.30

7801.89 ± 409.92

+ 1196.01 ± 381.49

< 0.001*

Step Counts (n/week)

54,687.39 ± 13,015.37

51,534.86 ± 11,615.04

− 3152.53 ± 11,433.77

0.02*

Light (min/week)

1711.06 ± 308.33

1694.92 ± 297.54

−16.16 ± 267.67

0.60

Moderate (min/week)

219.79 ± 72.26

203.99 ± 68.00

−15.80 ± 65.86

0.04*

Vigorous (min/week)

113.15 ± 53.40

97.95 ± 47.36

− 15.19 ± 46.06

0.005*

Physical Activity Levels (PAQ-C score) N = 52

3.06 ± 0.75

2.19 ± 0.57

−0.87 ± 0.72

< 0.001*

  1. Changes in continuous measures between before and during pandemic were compared using T Student for paired sample test and Chi- Square test for dichotomous variables
  2. MVPA moderate to vigorous physical activity, BMI body-mass index, PAQ-c physical activity questionnaire for children
  3. *Significant p-value < 0.05